3rd
Sunday of Advent – Year B
Is
61:1-2,10-11 I Thes 5:16-24 Jn 1:6-8,19-28
My
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There
is a story told about a man from Louisville, Kentucky, who had to travel to St.
Louis on business. This was years ago when Christians kept Sunday as a
very special day. For this man, "keeping the Sabbath," also
meant not riding the trains on Sunday. Thus, after he finished up his
business late Saturday night, he had to stay over in St. Louis until the
following Monday morning. On Sunday morning, he left the hotel looking
for a place to worship. The streets were quite deserted, but finally he
saw a policeman and asked him for directions to the nearest church. The
stranger thanked the policeman for the information and was about to walk off
when he turned and asked the policeman: "Why have you recommended that
particular church? It looks like a Catholic church. There must be several
churches nearby that you could have recommended." The policeman
smiled and replied: "I'm not a church man myself, but the people who come
out of that church are the happiest looking church-people in St. Louis and they
claim that they have received Jesus and they are happily taking him to their
homes. I thought that would be the kind of church you would like to
attend."
Today is Gaudete Sunday
because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon: “Gaudete in
domino semper,”
i.e., “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Today we light the rose candle, and the
priest may wear rose vestments to express our joy in the coming of Jesus as our
saviour. The common theme running through today’s readings is one of joy and
encouragement, and they stress the need for patience in those awaiting the
rebirth of Jesus in their hearts and lives. They give us messages of
hope—for people almost three millennia ago, for people at the beginning of the
first millennium and for people today.
I would like to recall a number
of times when we see Jesus being happy and joyful. Did Jesus feel cramped and
hindered? Not according to what we read in the Gospels. In John 15:11 we read
Jesus saying, “I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your
joy be complete.” Jesus was joyful and wanted his disciples to share his joy,
“I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be
complete.” Jesus attended many dinners: the one given him by Matthew/Levi after
he called him (Matt 9:9-10; see Mark 2:13-15; Luke 5:27-29); at Zacchaeus’
house (implied in Luke 19:7); and Pharisees invited Jesus to dinner (Luke 7:36;
11:37; 14:1); and there was dinner at Lazarus’ house (John 12:2). At Cana (John
2) Jesus changed between 120 and 180 gallons of water into wine so that the
wedding guests could continue to enjoy themselves, and it was wine of the best
vintage. That was a lot of wine, but we must remember that at that time the
wedding celebration lasted a week which explains why so much wine was needed.
The first reading tells us that
we should rejoice because our Messiah is going to come to deliver us from all
bondages. He says, "I rejoice
heartily in the Lord; in my God is the joy of my soul." In today’s Responsorial Psalm,
Mary exclaims:"My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my
Savior." Paul
writes in the second reading, “Rejoice
always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you. ”
(I Thes 5:16). He continues to write that one can achieve that JOY by
submitting oneself totally to the Lord. Today’s Gospel tells us that John the Baptist came as a witness who
would testify to the Light, i.e., Jesus, and the coming of Jesus the Light into
the world is the cause for our rejoicing because he removes the darkness
of sin from the world. We have an additional reason to rejoice because,
like John the Baptist, we, too, are chosen to bear witness to Christ Jesus, the
Light of the world.
Talking
about happiness, today the world gives varieties of happiness. However they are
all short-lived and temporary. But the true and permanent happiness could be
received only from the Lord. Today’s gospel (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28) very clearly
tells that “Humility” is the basic source of true happiness. John the Baptist
teaches that humility to the humanity.
Bible
scholars generally agree that the prologue (1:1-18) in John’s gospel is a hymn,
the overall purpose of which is to highlight the historical and theological
significance of Jesus' origins as "Word," "true Light" and
the "only Son." Verses 6-8(9) introduce John the Baptist in a
manner that clearly distinguishes him from Jesus – “John himself was not the
Light, but he came to testify to the Light." Some scholars maintain that
the author of the Gospel may be making such a forceful differentiation in order
to counter a sect claiming that John the Baptist was the light and the Messiah,
and not simply the one testifying to the Light. In John's Gospel,
however, recurring references to the Baptist suggest that Jesus and John
preached and baptized concurrently for some time (see John 3:22-30; 10:40-42).
But, in all he did and said, the Baptist always bore witness to Jesus and
his Messianic identity (John 1:6-8(9). “A man named John was sent from God. He
came for testimony, to testify to the Light.” John 1:19-28 is an Advent
text that calls us to remember the origins and purposes of Jesus with the kind
of devotion that challenges us to be witnesses for Jesus. John the
Baptist demonstrates what it means to bear witness to the true Light coming
into the world.
John humbly declares that he is
not the Messiah; but only a man who came to prepare His path. However we need
to notice to what extent he goes to humble himself. This is the key in the
gospel. His statement “I am not
worthy to untie the thong of his sandal” is the verse to be meditated today. To
understand this verse, we should learn about ‘slaves’ described in Bible. The
primary duty of a slave is to sit in front of the house and whenever the household
people go out and comeback to their house, the slave will have to bend down on
their feet, pour water and clean their feet. This was considered as a very degrading
work. Except a slave no one will do this undignified work. In those days in any
society ‘slave’ is the last category of people. There is nobody below them.
We
need to remember that Jesus humbled himself to that point of a slave. Jesus bent
on his knees to the feet of his Apostles, and washed their feet clearly
teaching them that he humbled himself to the extent of a slave. He also asked
them to follow that example. He clearly taught them that every disciple of
Christ should practice humility and that too to the point of a slave.
But
John the Baptist goes even beyond that. He humbles himself even below to the
level of a slave. He says he is not worthy even to be his slave. Thus John the
Baptist humbles himself even lower that of a slave by telling that, “I am not worthy to untie the thong of
his sandal”.
Dear
friends, this is the type of humility will bring true and permanent JOY. So we
need to set our priority in this world. We should not give the first priority
to the peripherals, but to the things that really matters. What really matters
a lot for both spiritual and social life is ‘true humility’ that was taught by
John the Baptist in today’s gospel.
A professor stood before his
philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began,
wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it
with golf balls. He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed
that it was.
The professor then picked up a
box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The
pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls. He then asked the
students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a
box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up
everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded
with an unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two
cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the
jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students
laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the
laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things
- God, Spouse, children, health, friends, and favourite passions – things that
if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be
full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and
car. The sand is everything else -- The small stuff. 'If you put the
sand into the jar first,’ He continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or
the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you
spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for
the things that are important to you. So... Pay attention to the things that
are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your Spouse. Play With your
children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There
will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the
golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set
your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her
hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad
you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may
seem, there's always room for a cup of coffee with a friend.' !!!
We remember again the words of
Paul, “Rejoice Always”.
AMEN.
Fr. A.
Christopher, HGN
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